The Romney who is true patriot, hero

In 1965, an aspiring presidential candidate with the last name of Romney took a fact finding trip to our utterly senseless and failed war zone in Vietnam. He came back a true believer and promoted the war till he came to his senses, becoming decidedly anti war. On September 4, 1967, that now leading GOP presidential candidate for the 1968 nomination, told Detroit TV interviewer Lou Gordon that the Generals who led him around by the nose through the Vietnam jungles "brainwashed" him into supporting that senseless and failed war. The media, the Johnson administration and his own Republican colleagues howled in scorn that a serious presidential contender could admit to being "brainwashed". His real sin to them, however, was his break with the Military-Industrial Complex which needs endless war to maintain their power and wealth, regardless of how many innocents on both sides suffer and die.

Using the "B" word may have doomed Romney's presidential aspirations but they were transferred to the son who spent most of the last six years grasping for the Holy Grail of American politics. Though the younger Romney failed twice and has left the public stage of office seekers for good, he carefully avoided the truth telling that doomed his father. Rather than utter a word of scorn or protest about our failed, murderous wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, he hired most of the neocon advisors tossed out of work when the electorate denied the Presidency to America's foremost war monger, Senator John McCain, in 2008. Romney the son even hired Dan Senor, the most visible Bush neocon adviser, who let slip during the campaign that Romney was pretty comfortable with and would support Israel launching pre-emptive war against our current mutual bête noir, Iran.

With the President's convincing win by 126 electoral and 3.5 millions popular votes, we've been saved from possibly more needless war as we wind down the second of Bush era preemptive wars. We will be much safer without Mitt Romney directing foreign policy for the next four years. Had his father been hailed as a patriot for calling out our criminal Vietnam War in 1967, and elected President in 1968, many of the 30,000 GI's killed under President Nixon's needless prolonging of that war would still be alive. Regardless of what Mitt Romney does with the rest of his life, its doubtful he could ever measure up to his father; the true patriot and hero, George Romney.

Originally published in the Daily Herald, December 7, 2012

Do as we say; not as we do

News reports that Syria is possibly loading WMD into anti insurgent missiles is inching US closer to direct involvement in the Syrian civil war. So what that part of the Syrian insurgency consists of al Qaeda and other anti American forces. There is money to be made and power to be grabbed by a new American intervention where we do not belong. Had we not intervened in the Libyan civil war, many innocents would have escaped being casualties of American firepower and 4 diplomats ensnared in anti American "blowback" would still be alive.

Meanwhile, American use of its version of WMD (weapons of mindless destruction) all over the Middle East and Africa drones on.

Cong. Roskam must rescind false tax issue job loss claim

We expect our Congressmen to engage in a certain amount of hyperbole in their self serving communications with their constituents. However, my Congressman Peter Roskam's latest email to constituents titled "This is small business America" is beyond the pale and must be rescinded. His charge that the President's proposed tax increase "could cost as many as 700,000 jobs" is unsubstantiated hype that has no basis in fact. It is a blatant scare tactic designed to deceive low information voters and placate his wealthy base which has made very clear that continued support depends on keeping the trillions in tax cuts they received since 2001. Besides that scurrilous claim, Roskam omits the fact that the President's tax proposal contains tax cuts for 100% of taxpayers including 100% of all businesses, large and small. For 98% of taxpayers, including 97% of small business owners, his tax plan covers 100% of their income. For the remaining 2% of taxpayers, including 3% of small business owners, they enjoy current tax rates on the first $250,000 of income. Over that very generous amount they will pay a modest higher tax rate to bring long overdue fairness to our tax system that has been skewed to the wealthiest Americans for eleven years now. During that time, massive income disparity between that favored upper 2% and the remaining Americans has widened to the biggest disparity since the period before and leading up to the Great Depression.  

We do not know the income of the family owned Gorski Engineering Roskam says will see their taxes increase, but if they fall within the 97% of small businesses making under $250,000, they will pay not an extra penny in tax. If they are in that golden 3% making over $250,000, they will not pay a penny of extra tax on the first $250,000 of income. Roskam also states that their 17 employees will also pay more tax. Are we to believe that each of those 17 employees makes over $250,000 yearly? If so, why do they need Roskam to shill for their extravagant life style at the expense of the middle class being sunk by the tax and wealth disparity Roskam champions to retain his wealthy base.  Those of us who truly care about the entire society instead of just the wealthy, will continue to scrutinize Roskam's communications and hold up a mirror to his misstatements. The Congressman is in denial if he ignores the roughly two thirds of the electorate who favor increased tax rates for those most able to pay but who have engorged on unneeded tax cuts for over a decade. Congressman Roskam should resend this email without the false charges but including the facts that he so feverishly works to hide. It will make Congressman Roskam's work on our behalf a lot easier. He won't have to remember what he said.